... wth.
I was going through some old notebooks here at home and found this.
I don't know which corner of my brain my muses pulled these out from. I started this about a year ago. I think this was supposed to be a prequel of sorts to the IreiAi not-so-smut that I never finished.
=======
Aiba was seventeen when he first fell in love.
It was with a pair of smiling brown eyes and a loud raucous laugh that he normally would have found eccentric but on his costar was strangely charming. The teasing lilt, ever present in the voice of his captain (as how Aiba had come to call him, at least in his head), never failed to capture his attention with every word that slipped past Shirota's lips. It was a curious feeling, being so completely taken with one person, but it was one that Aiba enjoyed.
Before he knew it, he was Shirota's closest friend, something he didn't foresee. And it became harder and harder to keep his feelings secret; the closer Shirota got, the more open Aiba became, and he ended each work day curled up in the passenger seat of Konii's car, facing away from his friend with a blush staining his cheeks as he wordlessly recalled how he couldn't stop laughing at a joke Shirota made that nobody else found funny.
And when he learned he murmured Shirota's name in his sleep (Konii said so, anyway), he knew he had it bad.
He wanted to spill. But he'd seen what it could do. (Adachi and Zukki didn't talk to each other for an entire month until Araki and Kaji teamed up and flat out told them to "make up or make out, dammit.") So he kept quiet. "Speak now or forever hold your peace" never rang truer for Aiba.
Until the day he turned eighteen, when he let Shirota drag him to the fire exit and take his first kiss.
He found he quite liked having Shirota's large, warm hand enclose his own trembling one, whether on the stage or off it, in front of audiences and friends or under cover of broken streetlamps. Little jokes, casual touches, covert glances accompanied by secret smiles exchanged behind their castmates' backs (at least until Kazuki called them on it) became the norm that left him with a light and giddy feeling.
And there was really nothing more to it.
****
Which was probably why, other than the copious tears shed at the daunting thought of being left behind by his friends and having to lead a new team on his own, there was nothing bitter in that last goodbye. With a whispered "Good luck, and make us proud" and a soft kiss that found home on Aiba's cheek, Shirota smiled their secret smile one last time. Aiba felt no sense of loss, no thoughts of might-have-beens.
****
If you didn't miss it, was it even there to begin with?
****
He was still eighteen when it happened again.
****
He certainly didn't expect the single perfect tulip that was tucked into his bag after the first rehearsal ended. No one apart from those directly related to the production had been through the doors the entire day, the guard had reported. Puzzled but pleasantly surprised nevertheless, Aiba left the building with a cheerful exchange of "Otsukare-sama!" and "Mata ashita!" with the good-looking member of the new rival school who exited beside him.
Breakfast the next day was an interesting event. For some reason, Aiba had woken up earlier than usual and made his way to the rehearsal studio. Only to find that it was too early for the doors to be open. He briefly contemplated sitting outside and looking like a kicked puppy, but the warm "Good morning!" and casual invitation to a nearby Starbucks had coaxed him away from the shade and into the bright summer sun.
He was surprised by how easy it was to make conversation with his new castmate -- "Oh, I wasn't able to properly introduce myself yesterday. I'm Aiba Hiroki." "I know, our reliable sempai. I'm Irei Kanata." From simple introduction to light-hearted banter over hot coffee and warm croissants, forty-five minutes passed easily before the pair realized they were almost late.
They entered the studio with identical laughter, and not a minute too soon: Ueshima followed closely behind (and assigned an hour of detention to Takiguchi and Seto for being five minutes late -- "breakfast date", Aiba knowingly quipped).
It was only a read-through of the script, but when they reached the scene between their roles Aiba couldn't help but slip into character right away when Irei said his first line. In his mind's eye he could already see them on stage, and he almost missed his next cue, engrossed as he was in the movie in his mind.
I don't know which corner of my brain my muses pulled these out from. I started this about a year ago. I think this was supposed to be a prequel of sorts to the IreiAi not-so-smut that I never finished.
=======
Aiba was seventeen when he first fell in love.
It was with a pair of smiling brown eyes and a loud raucous laugh that he normally would have found eccentric but on his costar was strangely charming. The teasing lilt, ever present in the voice of his captain (as how Aiba had come to call him, at least in his head), never failed to capture his attention with every word that slipped past Shirota's lips. It was a curious feeling, being so completely taken with one person, but it was one that Aiba enjoyed.
Before he knew it, he was Shirota's closest friend, something he didn't foresee. And it became harder and harder to keep his feelings secret; the closer Shirota got, the more open Aiba became, and he ended each work day curled up in the passenger seat of Konii's car, facing away from his friend with a blush staining his cheeks as he wordlessly recalled how he couldn't stop laughing at a joke Shirota made that nobody else found funny.
And when he learned he murmured Shirota's name in his sleep (Konii said so, anyway), he knew he had it bad.
He wanted to spill. But he'd seen what it could do. (Adachi and Zukki didn't talk to each other for an entire month until Araki and Kaji teamed up and flat out told them to "make up or make out, dammit.") So he kept quiet. "Speak now or forever hold your peace" never rang truer for Aiba.
Until the day he turned eighteen, when he let Shirota drag him to the fire exit and take his first kiss.
He found he quite liked having Shirota's large, warm hand enclose his own trembling one, whether on the stage or off it, in front of audiences and friends or under cover of broken streetlamps. Little jokes, casual touches, covert glances accompanied by secret smiles exchanged behind their castmates' backs (at least until Kazuki called them on it) became the norm that left him with a light and giddy feeling.
And there was really nothing more to it.
****
Which was probably why, other than the copious tears shed at the daunting thought of being left behind by his friends and having to lead a new team on his own, there was nothing bitter in that last goodbye. With a whispered "Good luck, and make us proud" and a soft kiss that found home on Aiba's cheek, Shirota smiled their secret smile one last time. Aiba felt no sense of loss, no thoughts of might-have-beens.
****
If you didn't miss it, was it even there to begin with?
****
He was still eighteen when it happened again.
****
He certainly didn't expect the single perfect tulip that was tucked into his bag after the first rehearsal ended. No one apart from those directly related to the production had been through the doors the entire day, the guard had reported. Puzzled but pleasantly surprised nevertheless, Aiba left the building with a cheerful exchange of "Otsukare-sama!" and "Mata ashita!" with the good-looking member of the new rival school who exited beside him.
Breakfast the next day was an interesting event. For some reason, Aiba had woken up earlier than usual and made his way to the rehearsal studio. Only to find that it was too early for the doors to be open. He briefly contemplated sitting outside and looking like a kicked puppy, but the warm "Good morning!" and casual invitation to a nearby Starbucks had coaxed him away from the shade and into the bright summer sun.
He was surprised by how easy it was to make conversation with his new castmate -- "Oh, I wasn't able to properly introduce myself yesterday. I'm Aiba Hiroki." "I know, our reliable sempai. I'm Irei Kanata." From simple introduction to light-hearted banter over hot coffee and warm croissants, forty-five minutes passed easily before the pair realized they were almost late.
They entered the studio with identical laughter, and not a minute too soon: Ueshima followed closely behind (and assigned an hour of detention to Takiguchi and Seto for being five minutes late -- "breakfast date", Aiba knowingly quipped).
It was only a read-through of the script, but when they reached the scene between their roles Aiba couldn't help but slip into character right away when Irei said his first line. In his mind's eye he could already see them on stage, and he almost missed his next cue, engrossed as he was in the movie in his mind.